The Visual QuickStart book is for the total beginner, the How Linux Works book will go into more detail. Either book is perfect if the person has never touched a *nix system before.
Both books are nicely formatted, clear and concise, once the person is done with one of these books, the person can get himself/herself one of those 1000 page tomes

The next item is a book by an author whose previous work I have read and enjoyed

I noticed that Benjamin Nevarez's latest book is available now on the Apress site for $9.99 in epub and pdf format, this price is valid through November 29, 2016

I didn't read this book yet, so here is what the website has to say about this book

What You Will Learn
Understand SQL Server's database engine and how it processes queries
Configure instances in support of high-throughput applications
Provide consistent response times to varying user numbers and query volumes
Design databases for high-throughput applications with focus on performance
Record performance baselines and monitor SQL Server instances against them
Troubleshot and fix performance problems

Here is a breakdown of the chapters

How SQL Server Works
Pages 1-19

Analyzing Wait Statistics
Pages 21-43

The Query Store
Pages 45-69

SQL Server Configuration
Pages 71-84

tempdb Troubleshooting and Configuration
Pages 85-99

SQL Server In-Memory Technologies
Pages 101-129

Performance Troubleshooting
Pages 131-154

Indexing
Pages 155-180

SQL Server Storage
Pages 181-196

There you have it...one of these will make a nice gift for your friendly DBA....

I sense many useless updates in you... Useless updates lead to fragmentation... Fragmentation leads to downtime...Downtime leads to suffering..Fragmentation is the path to the darkside.. DBCC INDEXDEFRAG and DBCC DBREINDEX are the force...May the force be with you"